Taste of the Weekend: May 20 to 23

One of the rare, delicious items to make the menu at Café Agnes, chile rellenos.

With farmers market season in full swing, we’ve got one thing on our mind: vegetables.

Though it will be a few weeks until the plump, deep red, purple, and yellow tomatoes or sweet berries hit stands, after a winter stuck inside, anything farm-fresh and green is calling our name. This weekend, get out and explore the long, winding line of tents at your local market; stock up on ramps (before they're gone!), leafy greens, asparagus, and so much more – as we all know, some of the best food in the city is found at markets.

be.wild.er

It’s almost impossible to miss the stand of one-acre, people-powered be.wild.er at the Bloomfield Saturday Market – their table practically overflows with all kinds of farm-fresh produce. Bags of greens are stacked high among bundles of radishes and towers of carrots, and when in season, quarts upon quarts of vibrant peppers and juicy tomatoes take up their table space, making piles of spring onions and rhubarb seem like mountains.

Café Agnes

I’ve been savoring a jar of salsa negra – a black-garlic-based sauce – from Café Agnes since their last market day of 2020. The spicy, smoky salsa is good on everything, especially their crispy, freshly-fried pupusas. Find these thick, griddled cornmeal cakes and tamales filled with pork, sweet potatoes, beans, corn, ramps – plus anything else the culinary team, always playing with seasonal produce, dreams up – at the Salvadoran eatery every week.

My advice? Don’t wait until the actual market to purchase food from Café Agnes – supply is limited. Try their online ordering system, which opens at noon on Mondays.

Crust Worthy

Sourdough drives Crust Worthy, an allergen-friendly micro-bakery that pops up at local markets during the week. Their baked goods – many vegan – often incorporate the fresh produce around them; take some of last season’s offerings for example: cherry tomato cake, ginger plum scones, peach blueberry buns.

Though Chloe Newman, the face behind the bakery, crafts excellent baked treats (her brownies are incredible), don't forget about her classic loaves. Treat yourself to a week of fantastic sandwiches and toasts on her traditional, mild sourdough loaf, the naturally-leavened rye, or whole-grain, rip-and-dip focaccia.

ShadoBeni

ShadoBeni packs tons of flavor and seasonal ingredients into their scratch-made, vegan, Trinidadian eats.

The weekly-changing bill of dishes includes items like the build-it-yourself doubles – a stack of barra, channa, tamarind, cucumber chutney, shado beni, a condiment made with their namesake plant, chadon beni, and pepper sauce – and bhaji rice, a vibrant plate full of rice simmered with coconut milk, pepper, and spinach paired with pumpkin choka and curry-stewed soya.

Fallen Aspen Farm

It can’t all be vegetables, right? Craft yourself a full, farmers market dinner with the help of Fallen Aspen Farm, a sustainable, ethical livestock farm found at three markets in the city: Squirrel Hill, Lawrenceville, and Bloomfield.

The Lawrence County farm has a variety of options, starting with their apple-finished, pastured pork available in a range of bacons, sausages, spare ribs,bone-in chops, and – if you’re feeding a crowd – the whole hog. Pasture-raised poultry, eggs, and a mix of cuts from their grass-fed lamb round out their offerings.